Silverstone guitar

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340mopar

Sorgermotorsports
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I am asking this here because I do not belong to any music/instrument forums and from reading here some of you are quite savy in the guitar world.

My wife and I help a friend of hers clean out her house because she was "moving on" and most stuff she just didn't want anymore.

Long story short, I took this Silverstone acoustic guitar out of the pile of "do not want anymore" and took it home. It has two "f" slots in it instead of the single round hole. Inside the guitar under one of the "f" slots it is stamped with a small square with 6-57-T and "Made in USA". I assume the 6-57 is June of 1957? and what about the "T"?

There is also 2604H710, I assume this would be the serial number?

I am curious who built this guitar because it is my understanding that a Silvertone was sold by Sears but had different manufacturers.



Chuck
 
The old Silvertone label was manufactured by Harmony for the big chain retail outlet. There was no difference in the quality of manufacture from what I remember, BUT the Harmony's were not made with the best of materials.....the necks usually had issues with warpage, and the finishes were generally thin and prone to water (or humidity) damage fairly early on in their lives.

If you have a '57, which it sounds that you may very well have, it may be worth having your local guitar shop check it out carefully to see if there are any serious problems (or a friend who knows something about guitars).....also, YOU check the current value of that specific guitar on Ebay or other forums, and do NOT take the word of someone with an ulterior motive........Right now, vintage guitars and amps are nearly parallel to the Barrett-Jackson craze we're experiencing in the auto world.....Collectors with the big cash reserves are scarfing up any and all old gems thay can find, then jacking the prices out of sight, effectively ruining the market for genuine enthusiasts and musicians...........

Learn all you can before advancing with a sale or trade on the guitar.....Even the lowest quality vintage guitars are bringing a premium today....it depends on the exact model and condition.

Research. :read2:
 
An added note..........

There were MANY manufacturers who made guitars for the Silvertone label, BUT the acoustics as you describe were made nearly exclusively by Harmony from my recollection.

If yours has been "high and dry" all these years, you may have a guitar worth 3 to 4 hundred or so.........:rock:
 
Good advice from Tom. Do some homework. Your not going the break the bank with an old acoustic Silverstone, but you might make a humble profit if everything goes your way.

Good luck!
 
Tom, good info thanks, I did take it to the local music store (it's the only one, small town thing) and he wouldn't tell me what it was worth but in the same breath said he would buy it from me. This is why I am asking.

I will post a pic.

Chuck
 
What did he offer you. If he didn't, ask him to make one. You don't have to sell it. You can figure it's worth 50 to 100% more than he offers you at least.
 
Here are some pics

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The Silvertones box, pick guard, & bridge all look usable from the pictures (can’t see how high the action is). Some of the machines look like there missing the collars but that just might be the picture. F holes don’t usually project as well as round holes. The guitar looks like it’s in pretty good shape, re-string it and play it for a while. If the action is high try a light or super light string first, until you assess it overall playability.
 
Nice Silvertone....I had a blonde one just like it as a kid. The other guys are right, its not a $15000 Telecaster but its not a throwaway either. I found on these older guitars they came with heavy strings. The g string in particular was probably a wound string and with alot of new strings the g is no longer wound which can cause a sour tone due to the groove in the bridge being wide.
 
Don't mean to jump in guys, but I have a similiar looking guitar made by Harmony, its a Roy Smeck dated Dec 1958, acoustic electric, F hole two pick ups and lead / rythm switch. I saw a similiar Roy Smeck ( 1963, half the options) for $ 795. Anybody know of these Roy Smeck's?
 
Chuck,

I have an almost identical guitar in my collection , but it's a Harmony ... If you're gonna play it and the action is too high, you can just loosen the strings and move the bridge closer to the tail piece to lower the strings .. that is unless some idiot glued it down.. It "should" float .. Nice guitar, hope you have lots of fun with it...

Kenny
 
I own an Archtop, like yours (Harmony H-1213) and 4 other Harmony electrics.

Your guitar looks like an H-1215 or a 1213. Look inside for another stamp.

All the models are listed here in the Harmony Database: http://harmony.demont.net/

You might also like to join the Harmony discussion board: http://216.219.212.85/cgi-bin/forums/ikonboard.cgi

I'm no expert, but these archtops are quite common on ebay and don't fetch a lot of money, most of them are what you call a "Wall Hanger" because their necks warp and what not. My archtop has really high action and is really cheaply made, but I only paid $50 for it and it's got this nice big sound that I like and it's fun to play. I don't play very well though, that's for sure!

Other Harmony's are fetching big money and some claim sound as good as, and are built as well as some of the more expensive guitars in the world. Harmony made something like 50% of all the guitars back in the '50's and '60's...kinda like how they're all made in Korea now.
 
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